“TEN more years, ten more years” chanted the Kop as they celebrated derby victory by taunting David Moyes over the lack of silverware during his Everton tenure.

But they could equally have been calling for Steven Gerrard to extend his illustrious Liverpool career by another decade.

More than 13 years after first pulling on a red shirt, the skipper retains the uncanny knack of being the right man at the right time.

Certainly, Tuesday’s 3-0 win was an opportune result for Kenny Dalglish, with the manager’s Anfield expensive evolution attracting its most intense scrutiny since his return to the hotseat after three consecutive Premier League defeats and a run of just two wins in 11 top-flight games.

Now, though, Liverpool go into Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final with Stoke City brimming with the confidence only defeating their most local rivals can provide.

And for Gerrard, the difference on Tuesday compared to so many previous home Premier League games this season was obvious.

“You can talk about luck, things not going your way, but you have to take responsibility for putting the ball in the back of the net and against Everton it worked out for us,” he said.

“The performances have been really good. The big picture is that the squad is a lot stronger and we are moving forward.

“But unless we can get the ball in the back of the net and have an end product we are going to find themselves sixth or seventh in the league and that’s not what we want.”

Defeat against Everton would have seen Liverpool slump behind their neighbours into eighth place in the Premier League table. But that Dalglish’s men could follow such an insipid performance at Sunderland with one of great verve and vigour highlights the frustrating inconsistency that Gerrard admits has cost the team this season.

“You can say that at times against so-called teams outside the top four we’ve been more inconsistent,” he said. “But to do well in this league you need to beat the teams who are down there as well.

“The league is getting stronger and stronger each year. To finish in the top four you have to be consistent. You can’t choose when you turn up. You can’t be eight out of 10 one week and then two or three out of 10 otherwise teams down there will beat you – as the games at Bolton and Sunderland showed.

“If you don’t turn up and compete against these sides, you get beat.”

While the poor form since the turn of the year has seen Liverpool slip 10 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal in the battle for Champions League qualification, with 10 games remaining Gerrard is refusing to throw in the towel just yet.

“It’s a mountain to climb but we will never give up,” added the 31-year-old. “We just have to try to win as many games as we can and see where it takes us. We won’t give up on the top four until it’s impossible.”

On his 400th Premier League appearance on Tuesday, the landmarks kept coming for Gerrard.

A first Anfield derby hat-trick by a Liverpool player since Fred Howe’s treble in 1935. A first league hat-trick in the fixture since Ian Rush netted four at Goodison Park in 1982. Gerrard’s third goal was Liverpool’s 300th against Everton in all fixtures and sealed their most comprehensive home win over their neighbours since November 1983.

And while the captain later dismissed comparisons with Rush, only the legendary striker has now scored more for the Anfield outfit in derby matches than Gerrard’s total of eight.

Typically, though, he opted instead to shift the plaudits elsewhere, with Gerrard full of praise for the impressive derby performance of central midfielder and fellow homegrown talent Jay Spearing.

“I think he’s been consistent all season,” he says. “Every time the manager has called on him, Jay has been superb.

“He was up against (Jack) Rodwell on Tuesday night. People talk about him as a £25m player and England’s future, but I think Jay more than matched him if not better than him. Jay is growing, he’s getting better and better and has a massive future at this club.”

Stoke have yet to score in six previous FA Cup games against Liverpool, with the Anfield side progressing on all four occasions the teams have been paired together.

The most recent was in 1988 when Peter Beardsley’s goal was enough to see off the Potters in a replay after a goalless draw at the old Victoria Ground.

Tony Pulis’ men, though, have taken four points from Liverpool in the Premier League, winning 1-0 at home before a dreadful goalless draw at Anfield in January.